


Sort of Like This

by Kika988



Series: Keithtober/Smoochtober [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Keithtober 2018, M/M, Prompt: bond, and then they Talk about them, the boys have feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-25 09:27:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16194737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kika988/pseuds/Kika988
Summary: After he's pulled out of the astral plane, Shiro still has a lingering bond with the Black Lion, and Keith can sometimes feel him through it. Sometimes that comes in handy."Something sort of like this, I think," Shiro said quietly, and Keith could feel him relaxing some of the barriers in his mind, relaxing into the bond with Black that Keith could feel him through.





	Sort of Like This

**Author's Note:**

> This is for Keithtober day 3 (a day late, whoops), for the prompt "bond". I didn't even TRY to do a Pacific Rim AU -- you should all be very proud, honestly. Thanks to my drifty for the beta read!
> 
> This takes place near the beginning of season 7 -- after Shiro has woken up, during their trip toward Earth. Hope you enjoy!

Keith was sitting in Black's pilot seat, bored and almost dozing, when a wave of frustration and despair hit him.

He may have spent some time away from Voltron, but he'd slotted back into the team surprisingly easily, his mind accepting the other Paladins as easily as Black accepted him back. He knew the feel of each Paladin's mind, distant but present in their bond between the lions, but this was different. This was heavier, closer, stronger, and unmistakably Shiro.

Keith scrambled out of his seat without a second thought, running back to the cargo area where Shiro slept on the single cot. They slept in shifts, he and Shiro and sometimes his mom, though at the moment Krolia was off in the green lion, helping Pidge design a training course that they both seemed far too gleeful about. Right now, it was just Keith and Shiro on Black, and Shiro was sending off waves of distress so thick Keith could barely breathe through it.

When Keith stepped around the boxes that had been stacked to create a sort of partition, their attempt at what little privacy the lions could afford, Shiro was still asleep, but panting as if he'd just run a marathon, his hand gripping the side of the cot so hard the metal groaned.

"Shiro," Keith said softly, hoping to wake him without startling him too much. "Shiro, wake up." Shiro showed no signs of recognition. Keith stepped closer, placing a hand on Shiro's shoulder and shaking him lightly. "Shiro, come on, wake up. You're on Black, you're safe."

"Keith." There it was again, that wave of despair, fear, rage at being useless, ineffectual-

"Shiro!" Keith spoke louder than he had intended to, startled by the intensity of the emotions overwhelming him. Shiro shot up in bed with a gasp, his arm extending out as if reaching for something. "Shiro, it's Keith. You're on Black, you're safe," Keith said, knowing well how a nightmare could sometimes take a moment to fully dissolve into the waking world. There was a pause as Shiro caught his breath.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry," Shiro said, his voice hoarse as he looked around the room, his eyes catching on Keith a couple of times before he seemed to settle, looking up to meet Keith's eyes. "Thanks. Sorry I disturbed you." He scrubbed a hand over his face and swung his legs around to sit on the edge of the bed.

"It's fine." Keith sat on the bed beside Shiro, careful to leave a few inches between them -- he wasn't sure what type of nightmare it had been, and he was all too aware of how the memory of their fight still played out in his own dreams. "Wanna talk about it?"

There was a long silence, long enough that Keith started to wonder if Shiro had actually heard him, before the other man spoke.

"It's weird," he finally said. "I have flashes of memory of the fight you had with… the clone." He hesitated over the last words, as if they were still strange to him. "But I also have my memory of it, and I'm honestly not sure which is worse." Keith frowned.

"I felt some of it just now, through Black, I assume," Keith admitted. "But what do you mean by your memory? You were still in the other plane at that point, so…"

"Yeah," Shiro said, nodding, "but I could sometimes see through Black's eyes, and he was near enough that I could see some of the fight." His hand curled around the edge of the bed again, and Keith could feel the sharp edge of the emotions the memory caused. "I could only watch, couldn't do anything. I thought-" He clenched his jaw, and Keith could feel him pull back, trying to wall off his emotions that kept spilling over. "I thought I was going to have to watch you die."

Keith reached out, covering Shiro's hand with his own and squeezing briefly. "But I'm okay. We both are."

Shiro nodded, his lips twisting up in a wry grin.

"Yeah, I know. Just need to convince my dreams of that." He looked down at where Keith's hand covered his own, considering. Keith caught the movement and took his hand back, clasping his hands together in his lap. "I didn't expect the lingering bond with Black, with you piloting him," Shiro admitted. "Does it bother you?"

Keith looked up, brow furrowed.

"What? No, of course not. Why would it bother me?" He seemed baffled by the very idea. Shiro shrugged.

"I guess I just don't want you thinking I'm trying to take over as Black's pilot again. You're the leader of Voltron now, and you're amazing at it, just like I always knew you would be. I have no intention of trying to take that away."

"I know you don't," Keith replied. He might not have wanted the position of team leader, but despite that, he'd stepped into the role and intended to see it through. "You were in Black's consciousness for months," he pointed out. "I'd have been surprised if there hadn't been a lingering bond there. It's fine, Shiro, honestly. If it was anyone else, it might be weird, but…" he trailed off, shrugging. Shiro watched him for a moment before speaking again.

"You know, when I was in there, I could still feel the team bond, to a degree. It was nice. Comforting." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "When you were piloting Black, though it was… closer. I could feel you more."

Keith looked up at him, his expression guarded.

"What do you mean by more? Like I was there with you?" Shiro shook his head.

"No, not quite. More that I could feel your emotions more clearly. I could feel how much you were hurting. Among other things. When you first tried to bond with him, it was… intense."

Keith thought back to when he'd climbed into Black's cockpit, after everyone else had already taken their turn. He'd missed Shiro like a physical ache, and had wanted nothing more than for Black to ignore him like he had the others.

_"Please, no."_

"I wasn't in a great place," Keith replied after a moment, his voice low. "I, uh. I'm sorry if it made things worse for you." Shiro shook his head, reaching out to place his hand on Keith's knee.

"No. I mean, I hated seeing you hurting, obviously, but." He hesitated. "There was something else in there, in what you were feeling." Keith froze at the words, stiffening under Shiro's hand.

Keith could hardly think through the panic swirling through his mind. He'd worked so hard to keep his feelings for Shiro under wraps, but had Shiro known all this time? For months? And now he was going to let him down easy, because of course he would, this was Shiro, so--

"Something sort of like this, I think," Shiro said quietly, and Keith could feel him relaxing some of the barriers in his mind, relaxing into the bond with Black that Keith could feel him through.

It was… warm. It felt like home, and comfort, and safety. But beyond that, there was more, something deeper and more than friendship that made his heart speed up a little. There was longing, and the urge to protect, and a thrill of desire that ran down his spine. It was everything he felt every time Shiro walked into a room, and Keith could only bow his head, ashamed that he'd added to Shiro's concerns after everything he'd already been through.

"Listen, Shiro, that's just-- it's not a big deal, okay? I know you don't feel that way about me, and it's fine, really. I'm dealing with it, I have been for a while. I'm glad to just be your friend, so-"

"Keith," Shiro interrupted him, squeezing his knee. Keith took a deep, shuddering breath, and lifted his head to look Shiro in the eye. He looked… nervous?

"That wasn't a memory of what you felt," Shiro explained slowly. "That was from me. About you," he added, as if to dispel any doubt.

There was a long, tense silence as the two stared at each other. Keith opened his mouth to speak twice, but both times, no sound came out. Finally Shiro spoke up, a little haltingly.

"If your feelings have changed, I-"

He wasn't able to finish his sentence, because Keith's lips were on his. It was sudden and clumsy, but they both relaxed into it quickly, the initial awkward press of lips melting into something gentle and warm. Shiro's hand rested lightly on Keith's jaw, and Keith pushed his fingers into the short hair at the nape of Shiro's neck, as if he were afraid the other man might disappear. When they pulled apart, they rested their foreheads together, their breath mingling as they both took in what had just happened. After a moment, Shiro started chuckling.

"What is it?" Keith asked, eyes narrowed. Had the kiss been that bad?

"It's just," Shiro said, still laughing, "I bet the ten-thousand year old weaponized mechanical lion never imagined it'd be used as a matchmaker." Keith's eyes widened as they both felt the mental equivalent of a _hmph_ in the back of their minds, and he burst out laughing along with Shiro.

If they both also felt a sentiment coming from Black that translated to something like _It's about time_ , they both chose to ignore it in favor of curling up in the far too small cot together. It was far from comfortable, but neither man could find it in them to care very much at the moment.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! All comments are loved and appreciated.
> 
> Find me on Twitter at @B1ackPa1adins to scream about how much we love these boys!


End file.
